Melt-blown nonwovens with smaller fiber diameters and fewer roping defects are good candidates for air filtration. However, there have been few publications of experimental work reducing the fiber diameter and improving the roping defects of melt-blown nonwovens at the same time. Here, we reported an electrostatic-induction-assisted melt-blowing (EIMB) process by introducing an induced electrostatic field to the conventional MB process. The EIMB process is based on a commercial process without interfering or charging the polymer jet before spinning. Therefore, the production efficiency of the EIMB process is the same as the conventional MB process. The numerical simulation method was employed to investigate the effects of the electrode width on the melt-blown airflow field since the electrode width is a critical parameter that affects the stability of the MB airflow field. Benefiting from the introduction of the electrostatic field, melt-blown nonwovens with smaller fiber diameters and fewer roping defects were obtained using the EIMB technology. Compared to the conventional MB process, the EIMB process dramatically improved the filtration performance and reduced the energy consumption.
ShambaughRL.A macroscopic view of the melt-blowing process for producing microfibers. Ind Eng Chem Res1988;
27: 2363–2372.
2.
UyttendaeleMAJShambaughRL.Melt blowing: general equation development and experimental verification. AIChE J1990;
36: 175–186.
3.
RaoRSShambaughRL.Vibration and stability in the melt blowing process. Ind Eng Chem Res1993;
32: 3100–3111.
4.
SunGRuanYWangX, et al.
Numerical study of melt-blown fibrous web uniformity based on the fiber dynamics on a collector. Ind Eng Chem Res2019;
58: 23519–23528.
5.
ChhabraRShambaughRL.Experimental measurements of fiber threadline vibrations in the melt-blowing process. Ind Eng Chem Res1996;
35: 4366–4374.
6.
BansalVShambaughRL.On-line determination of diameter and temperature during melt blowing of polypropylene. Ind Eng Chem Res1998;
37: 1799–1806.
7.
TanDHZhouCEllisonCJ, et al.
Meltblown fibers: Influence of viscosity and elasticity on diameter distribution. J Non Newt Fluid Mech2010;
165: 892–900.
8.
LuoCJStoyanovSDStrideE, et al.
Electrospinning versus fibre production methods: from specifics to technological convergence. Chem Soc Rev2012;
41: 4708–4735.
9.
EllisonCJPhatakAGilesDW, et al.
Melt blown nanofibers: fiber diameter distributions and onset of fiber breakup. Polymer2007;
48: 3306–3316.
10.
PuYZhengJChenF, et al.
Preparation of polypropylene micro and nanofibers by electrostatic-assisted melt blown and their application. Polymers2018;
10: 959–970.
11.
Uppal R, Bhat G, Eash C, et al. Meltblown nanofiber media for enhanced quality factor. Fiber Polym 2013; 14: 660–668.
12.
HassanMAAnantharamaiahNKhanSA, et al.
Computational fluid dynamics simulations and experiments of meltblown fibrous media: new die designs to enhance fiber attenuation and filtration quality. Ind Eng Chem Res2016;
55: 2049–2058.
13.
WardG.Meltblown nanofibres for nonwoven filtration applications. Filtrat Separat2001;
38: 42–43.
14.
KimHJHanSWJoshiMK, et al.
Fabrication and characterization of silver nanoparticle-incorporated bilayer electrospun–melt-blown micro/nanofibrous membrane. Int J Polym Mater Polym Biomater2017;
66: 514–520.
15.
LeeYWadsworthLC.Structure and filtration properties of melt blown polypropylene webs. Polym Eng Sci1990;
30: 1413–1419.
16.
HaoXYangYZengY.Retarding the decay of temperature in the air flow field during the melt blowing process using a thermal insulation tube. Text Res J2019;
90: 606–616.
17.
DrabekJZatloukalM.Meltblown technology for production of polymeric microfibers/nanofibers: a review. Phys Fluid2019;
31: 091301.
18.
TateBDShambaughRL.Modified dual rectangular jets for fiber production. Ind Eng Chem Res1998;
37: 3772–3779.
19.
KrutkaHMShambaughRLPapavassiliouDV.Effects of die geometry on the flow field of the melt-blowing process. Ind Eng Chem Res2003;
42: 5541–5553.
20.
KrutkaHMShambaughRLPapavassiliouDV.Effects of temperature and geometry on the flow field of the melt blowing process. Ind Eng Chem Res2004;
43: 4199–4210.
21.
HassanMAYeomBYWilkieA, et al.
Fabrication of nanofiber meltblown membranes and their filtration properties. J Membr Sci2013;
427: 336–344.
22.
TanDHHermanPKJanakiramanA, et al.
Influence of Laval nozzles on the air flow field in melt blowing apparatus. Chem Eng Sci2012;
80: 342–348.
23.
Tan DH. Tuning the diameter and surface properties of meltblown fibers. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, 2011, p.241.
24.
WangYWangX.Investigation on a new annular melt-blowing die using numerical simulation. Ind Eng Chem Res2013;
52: 4597–4605.
25.
HaoXZengY.A review on the studies of air flow field and fiber formation process during melt blowing. Ind Eng Chem Res2019;
58: 11624–11637.
26.
LeeYWatanabeKNakamuraT, et al.
Development of blown electrospinning apparatus of isotactic polypropylene. NSTI-Nanotech2010;
1: 826–829.
27.
MengK.Investigation on compound field of electrospinning and melt blowing for producing nanofibers. Int J Numer Meth Heat Fluid Flow2017;
27: 282–286.
28.
WiseJChoMZussmanE, et al. Electrospinning techniques to control deposition and structural alignment of nanofibrous scaffolds for cellular orientation and cytoskeletal reorganization. In: LaurencinCTNairLS (eds) Nanotechnology and tissue engineering: the scaffold.
Boca Raton: CRC Press,
Taylor and Francis, 2008, pp.243–260.
29.
Tang D, Zhuang X, Zhang C, et al. Generation of nanofibers via electrostatic-induction-assisted solution blow spinning. J Appl Polym Sci 2015; 132: 42326.
30.
Zheng W, Zheng W, Shi C, et al. Cylindrical-electrode-assisted solution blowing for nanofiber spinning. J Appl Polym Sci 2019; 136: 47087.
31.
XueJWuTDaiY, et al.
Electrospinning and electrospun nanofibers: methods, materials, and applications.Chem Rev2019;
119: 5298–5415.
32.
WangXYuGZhangJ, et al.
Conductive polymer ultrafine fibers via electrospinning: preparation, physical properties and applications. Progr Mater Sci2021;
115: 100704.
33.
Edward LawS.Agricultural electrostatic spray application: a review of significant research and development during the 20th century. J Electrostat2001;
51-52: 25–42.
34.
WalczakZK.XI – processes of “spunbond”. In: WalczakZK (ed.) Processes of fiber formation.
Oxford:
Elsevier Science Ltd, 2002, pp.346–374.
35.
HarphamASShambaughRL.Flow field of practical dual rectangular jets. Ind Eng Chem Res1996;
35: 3776–3781.
36.
KrutkaHMShambaughRLPapavassiliouDV.Analysis of a melt-blowing die: comparison of CFD and experiments. Ind Eng Chem Res2002;
41: 5125–5138.
37.
WangYQiuYJiC, et al. The effect of the geometric structure of the modified slot die on the air field distribution in the meltblowing process. Text Res J. Epub ahead of print 2021. DOI: 00405175211035134 (Published online August 3, 2021).
38.
SunYWangX.Optimization of air flow field of the melt blowing slot die via numerical simulation and genetic algorithm. J Appl Polym Sci2010;
115: 1540–1545.
39.
SunGYangJSunX, et al.
Simulation and modeling of microfibrous web formation in melt blowing. Ind Eng Chem Res2016;
55: 5431–5437.
40.
SunGYangJXinS, et al.
Influence of processing conditions on the basis weight uniformity of melt-blown fibrous webs: numerical and experimental study. Ind Eng Chem Res2018;
57: 9707–9715.
41.
HindsWC.Aerosol technology: properties, behavior, and measurement of airborne particles.
New York:
Wiley, 1999.
42.
MarlaVTShambaughRLPapavassiliouDV.Online measurement of fiber diameter and temperature in the melt-spinning and melt-blowing processes. Ind Eng Chem Res2009;
48: 8736–8744.
43.
HaoXHuangHZengY.Simulation of jet velocity in the melt-blowing process using the coupled air–polymer model. Text Res J2018;
89: 3221–3233.
44.
FridrikhSVJianHYBrennerMP, et al.
Controlling the fiber diameter during electrospinning. Phys Rev Lett2003;
90: 144502.
45.
BarnhamKWJMazzerMCliveB.Resolving the energy crisis: nuclear or photovoltaics?Nat Mater2006;
5: 161–164.
46.
MelinH.Towards a solution to the energy crisis. Nat Astron2020;
4: 837–838.
47.
FengCWangM.Analysis of energy efficiency and energy savings potential in China’s provincial industrial sectors. J Clean Prod2017;
164: 1531–1541.
48.
Fuso NeriniFTomeiJToLS, et al.
Mapping synergies and trade-offs between energy and the sustainable development goals. Nat Energ2018;
3: 10–15.
49.
HassanMAYeomBYWilkieA, et al.
Fabrication of nanofiber meltblown membranes and their filtration properties. J Membr Sci2013;
427: 336–344.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
